Method for augmented reality assisted document archival

ABSTRACT

A method for archiving a document in digital or physical form can be summarized as including: capturing an image of the document by a high resolution camera of a headset, the document comprising index information, recording the captured image of the document in a document database along with the index information, confirming, the archiving of the document in physical form in a folder or a box of a cabinet at a determined physical storage location by detecting the folder or box in a delimited centre portion of a field of view of the high resolution camera of the headset in conjunction with detection of a voiced command or an indication of an identification tag of the folder or the box of the cabinet, and recording the determined physical storage location of the document.

The present invention refers to an augmented reality (AR) system thatcan be used to assist an operator in document processing and archival,both in physical and digital form.

Although the volume of physical mail has dropped drastically over thelast decade, due to the increasing use of digital technologies, manydocuments are still sent and received in physical form, and need to beachieved. This is notably the case for invoices, which must be kept forlegal reasons, contracts, compliance reports or other kind ofcorrespondence. This is also the case for internally generated documentsbearing signatures, which materialize an agreement between two or moreparties.

Systems exist to digitalize physical documents, extract specificinformation from their images and enable business process automation.These systems are intrinsically complex and require a lot of initialtraining and set-up due to the variety of hardware and softwareinvolved, and are costly to operate. Such systems are primarilyimplemented in large organisations dealing with high volumes of similardocuments. However many SMB's and even larger enterprises cannot affordthem and rely on manual processing and physical storage, generally incabinets located close to the concerned clerks, and most often in theiroffice.

The treatment of a physical document follows several steps, from thereception in a mailroom to its archival. For instance, an invoice mayremain in process several days, before it is approved, recorded andproperly stored. During that period, the invoice may be mixed with otherpending documents and uneasy to locate. It might also be required toretrieve the invoice after archival, in case of control ordiscrepancies. In many cases, an initial check or recheck only requiresa glance at the invoice as it is mostly to confirm an information, dateor amount. In other cases, an examination of the original document isrequired.

Invoices are stored according to various criteria, typically in foldersor boxes corresponding to different suppliers, but may also be stored inchronological order. Other kinds of documents may be stored by product,project, customer, country, or in any sensible manner. In the absence ofthe titular clerk, it might be difficult to locate a particulardocument. The document may also be in process for some reason, and notpresent where it is supposed to be.

So, there is a need for a system allowing to record essentialinformation about a document, to retrieve an image of the document for aquick check, and to retrieve its location in a physical storage for amore substantial check, which can be easily and flexibly implemented invarious office environments without necessitating extensive floor space,training and setup, and is affordable for SMB's.

PRIOR ART

U.S. Pat. No. 6,775,422 describes a storage system is for paper andelectronic documents. Electronic documents are acquired or produced toprovide one or more real time sequences of electronic documents in oneor more real time sequences of date/time instances. Acquired or producedphysical documents are added to the front (or the back) of one or morecumulative physical stack. The resulting electronic records uniquelyidentify the physical locations of the physical documents and theelectronic locations of the electronic documents, both in terms of theirassociated date/time instances. These date/time instances guarantee thatvirtual sets of related physical documents may be conveniently accessedand physically retrieved, and that corresponding sets of relatedelectronic documents may be immediately displayed and suitablypresented.

The system of U.S. Pat. No. 6,775,422 appears not particularly flexible.Physical documents are archived in chronological order. Virtual sets ofrelated physical documents are dispersed in various physical stacks andmay not be so conveniently accessed.

US2017034366 describes a method for electronically and physicallyarchiving documents. The invention also relates to a container forcarrying out the method. The method includes the steps: of producing afile by recording a digital image of a physical document using a camera,storing at least some information based on this file in an electronicmemory; filing the physical document in a container, linking a uniquecontainer identification and/or position information of the physicaldocument with the file and/or information stored in the electronicmemory, and storing in a database the file and/or information stored inthe electronic memory with the link to the container identificationand/or position information.

Interestingly, US2017034366 mentions the use of a 3D graph or “augmentedreality” view, in order to indicate the vertical position of a physicaldocument in a container. This 3D image is inherently linked to thedesign of the container. The documents are archived in chronologicalorder. The vertical position of a document is calculated based on theheight of previously stored documents.

The systems of US2017034366 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,775,422 are finallyquite similar. Storage and retrieval of physical documents involve asignificant number of steps and are not particularly user friendly. Itis however possible to develop a system much simpler to operate, withoutsome of the drawbacks of the prior art, thanks to a more elaborated useof augmented reality.

OBJECT AND DEFINITION OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the invention to provide a method and system that canhelp operators to record enough information about a document for a quickcheck, and to retrieve its location in a physical storage for a moresubstantial check.

It is another object of the invention to provide a method and systemthat does not require additional handling operations and keeps thearchival process as close as possible to the existing one.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a method and systemwhich can be easily and flexibly implemented in various officeenvironments without necessitating extensive floor space, training andsetup, and is affordable for SMB's.

These objects are achieved by a method for archiving a document indigital or physical form comprising:

-   -   capturing an image of a document with a high resolution camera        of a headset connected to a computer, the document comprising        index information enabling identification of the document,    -   recording the captured image of the document in a document        database along with the index information,    -   archiving the document in a folder or box of a cabinet at a        determined physical storage location and confirming the archival        using the headset, and    -   recording the determined physical storage location of the        document.

The method takes advantage of augmented reality (AR). AR is a livedirect or indirect view of a physical, real-world environment whoseelements are supplemented by computer-generated sensory input such assound, images or data. With the help of advanced AR technology (e.g.adding computer vision and object recognition) information about thesurrounding real world of the user becomes interactive and digitallymodifiable. Information about the environment and its objects isoverlaid on the real world.

Advantageously, the method further comprises creating a uniqueidentifier for the document.

At least part of the index information is entered by voicing key wordsin a microphone of the headset or is automatically extracted from thecaptured image with an image analysis software.

Preferably, the method further comprising asking for missing indexinformation if said at least part of the index information previouslycaptured is not sufficient for identifying the document.

In one embodiment, when a quick digital check is required, the methodfurther comprises retrieving the recorded image of the document from thedocument database and displaying the image on an embedded display of theheadset.

Advantageously, retrieving of the recorded image of the documentcomprises entering at least part of the index information by voicing keywords in a microphone of the headset and matching said at least part ofthe index information with documents of the document database.

Preferably, said key words used as index information are one or more ofthe followings: a supplier name, a contract number, a service period, arecipient department, a reference number or a date.

Preferably, the method further comprises displaying recorded images ofdocuments in sequential order on the embedded display of the headset andnavigating through the recorded images to identify the relevantdocument.

Advantageously, the method further comprises asking for missing indexinformation if said at least part of the index information previouslyvoiced is not sufficient for identifying the document.

Preferably, the method further comprises sending the recorded image ofthe document by email to a recipient for information or approval andsending the index information or other elements which do not form partof the index information to an enterprise application software of thecomputer or a remote server.

When a more substantial physical check is required, the method furthercomprises identifying the document by entering the corresponding indexinformation, displaying on the embedded display of the headset thedetermined physical storage location of the document, by highlighting oroverlaying a virtual artifact onto the corresponding cabinet, folder orbox and retrieving the document from the determined physical storagelocation.

Advantageously, displaying the determined physical storage comprisesgiving a first indication of direction if said corresponding cabinet,folder or box is not in the direct field of the high resolution camera.

The present invention also concerns a system of archiving a document indigital or physical form for carrying out the previous method.

The system may also indicate where a document belonging to a particulargroup is to be placed. This is particularly useful in the absence of thetitular clerk. Based on the key words spoken by the operator, the systemretrieves the location of previously archived documents belonging to thesame group and displays it.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will be described and explained with additionalspecificity and detail through the use of the accompanying drawings inwhich:

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a workspace incorporating the system forcarrying out the method of the invention;

FIG. 2 shows a more detailed view of the system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a first embodiment of the method of theinvention;

FIG. 4 shows an example of a document as seen with the system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 shows an example of several documents as seen with the system ofFIG. 1;

FIG. 6 shows a group of storage cabinet as displayed with the system ofFIG. 1; and

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a second embodiment of the method of theinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a workspace incorporating the system ofthe invention. In this example, the workspace is a traditional clerkoffice, which is not specifically modified to practice the invention.The work space includes several storage cabinets, in a vertical and/orhorizontal arrangement. For convenience, only one operator 10 and threecabinets 12, 14, 16 have been represented in details, but the system canbe used by several operators concurrently, each wearing an individualheadset. The cabinets may be disposed in separate groups, correspondingfor instance to distinct departments, subsidiaries, countries oractivities. Some of these groups (in dotted circles) may be not indirect line of sight with the operator, or located in other rooms.Basically the system can be adapted to any existing physical arrangementof storage cabinets.

In this example, each of the cabinets 12, 14, 16 contains a plurality ofboxes 120, 140, 160 corresponding to suppliers, customers, products orprojects. The boxes and optionally the cabinets bear tag identifiers12A, 14A, 16A. The tags are preferably printed with a name in clear, butmay also be printed with a number or barcode ID. The physicalarrangement of the cabinets and boxes corresponds to the logicalorganisation of the archives. The documents sit on the clerk's desk andare usually disposed in one or several stacks or bins, which maycorrespond to different steps of the process.

The operator 10 wears a headset 100 including a high resolution digitalcamera 102 and a microphone 104. The headset is connected to a computer18 containing a document database 180, preferably in a wireless manner,in order to give complete freedom of movement to the operator whenroaming through the archives. In a specific embodiment (notillustrated), the headset and the computer (in that case an embeddedcontroller) may be integrated in a single wearable unit. The operatorpicks the documents on a first come basis, or in sequence. An image of adocument is captured by the high-resolution camera. This image capturecan be automatic (the system recognises a new document) or triggered bygesture or vocal input. The gesture may be a click on a virtual buttonor on a small input device (not illustrated) connected to the headset.The vocal input may be a specific vocal command of one of the key wordsused as index information. Index information (key words) related to thedocument, such as sender or date, can be input by voice with themicrophone 102. Wearing the headset 100, the operator 10 reads aloud theinformation while or right after an image has been captured. A uniqueidentifier is created by the computer 18 for the document. This documentidentifier is preferably an automatically generated date/time stamp or achronological number. The document image is then registered in thedocument database 180, along with the document identifier and the indexinformation.

The document is then processed as usual, maintained pending for a periodof time, and archived when appropriate. When a document is archived, thephysical storage location of the document is captured by the headset,recorded in the document database and linked with the unique documentidentifier. This operation can be performed on the fly as the operator10 manipulates the documents and there is practically no difference withthe usual process. In particular, there is no need to archive documentsin chronological order nor to use special containers, and the existingcabinets, folders or boxes can be used.

The workspace may also include a scanner 20 connected to the computer 18and that is used for various purposes, including recording digitalimages of certain documents. This may be useful when these documentsneed to be dispatched by email for information or approval, orduplicated for some reason. However, it is expected that the imagescaptured by the headset 100 are precise enough for information purposesor even for an approval process in most cases.

As presented, the system requires little or no modifications to existingfurniture. Generally the cabinets, folders or boxes are already in useand full of documents. In a set-up phase, the locations of the cabinetsare “learned” and a 3D model of the operator's environment is built. Thespatial layout of the workplace is registered so that a first indicationof direction can be displayed even if a given cabinet is not in directline of sight with the operator or located in another room. Thisindication may also be given or supplemented by audio messages.

The term “document” shall be interpreted in a broad sense, not to coveronly single or few pages documents such as invoices, but also bookletsor books for which only an image of the cover is registered.

FIG. 2 shows a more detailed view of the system of the invention. Themain elements of the system are the headset 100 and the computer 18. Theheadset is specifically intended for augmented reality and comprises atransparent shield (herein referred as the embedded display) on whichvirtual artifacts are projected, while the computer may be a genericcomputer where the various software components necessary to provideaugmented reality have been loaded.

The headset 100 includes the high resolution digital camera 102,preferably of 5 megapixels or more, the microphone 104 for vocal inputand a pair of earphones 106 for vocal assistance in case someinformation cannot be conveniently displayed. The headset furtherincludes 3D sensors 108 (for instance infrared sensors) for acquiringthe spatial environment of the operator 10, an embedded display 110 foroverlaying information on the real word, preferably with a horizontalspan of 90° or more. Virtual artifacts are projected on the embeddeddisplay at a position corresponding to real objects resting in theoperator's view field, the position of the real objects being acquiredby the camera 102 and the 3D sensors 108. The headset also includes apositioning system 112, such as a GPS or Wi-Fi positioning system.

The computer 18 includes the document database 180, an OCR software 182(for optical character recognition), a BCR software 184 (for barcoderecognition), an image acquisition and/or analysis software 186, aspatial positioning software 188, a voice recognition software 190, adisplay controller 192 for the embedded display of the headset, adocument matching software 193 for comparing images of documents, a ARarchival application software 194 and an operating system 196. Othersoftware components, like for instance a vocal synthesis software 198 oroptionally an enterprise application software 200 for accounting orreporting, may be loaded on the computer 18.

Optical character or barcode recognition software 182, 184, arepreferably included by default in the computer 18. These may not beuseful if no data need to be extracted from the images of documents andthe archival process is purely triggered by vocal input. However thesemay be required to read the tags identifiers 12A, 14A, 16A of thecabinet or boxes, or to perform a match based on image comparison in thedocument database 180. When the system creates a unique documentidentifier, index information may be extracted automatically from theimage of the document without the operator having to speak key words forexample.

The image acquisition and/or analysis software 186 includes a set oflibraries for image treatment of a document, like for instance forlocalization and extraction of the character strings, pictograms or anyimage element which is required by the AR archival application software194. The document database 180 contains all information related to thedocuments. The sets of key words used to identify documents or groups ofdocuments and the logical association with their physical locations arestored in the AR archival application, but can also be recorded in thedocument database 180.

Spatial positioning software 188 comprises features allowing it torecord the positions of the various cabinets and boxes 12, 14, 16. In aset-up phase, the locations of the cabinets are “learned” and a 3D modelof the operator's environment is built. The spatial layout of the officeis recorded. The computer 18 creates a 3D coordinates systems where theobjects captured by the 3D sensors 108 are positioned. The origin of thecoordinate system may be an operator desk as illustrated in FIG. 1.Then, all operator displacements from the desk to a given cabinet, andthe position of this cabinet in the 3D model, are recorded. The path tothis cabinet can be retrieved and indicated to the operator at a laterstage. The system may also compare the 3D objects seen by the sensorswith the spatial layout previously recorded. This way the position ofthe operator can be determined whatever the starting point of thedisplacement, along with the relative position of the cabinets. A firstindication of direction can be displayed even if the cabinet is not indirect line of sight with the operator, or located in another room,thanks to the embedded positioning system. This indication can be givenor supplemented by audio messages if the system includes the vocalsynthesis software 198.

The computer 18 may also be connected to the scanner 20 and to a remoteserver 22 hosting the enterprise application 200 (if not already presentin the computer), to which data extracted by the scanner 20 from thedocuments are sent. The remote server may also host the documentdatabase 180, a separate digital document archival software 202 forstoring images of documents recorded by the scanner 20, and/or anyrequired software component which cannot be loaded in the computer. Thisis particularly useful when the headset and the computer are integratedin a single wearable unit.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing one embodiment of the method of recordingand retrieving a document in digital or physical form. A minimal set ofkey words may be defined for each category of documents in a setupphase. Their number must be high enough to enable identification of eachdocument. Indeed, the system shall be able to retrieve a document in thedocument database based only on index information (key words) andwithout reference to its image. Several errors may occur during thatprocess. For instance, the key words may not be audible, or the operatormay not enter enough key words or no key words at all. If required, thesystem may ask the operator to enter more key words till the set iscomplete.

The operator may also try to record the same document twice, enteringeither the same or a different set of key words. In the first case, thesystem signals the double entry to the operator and displays thepreviously registered image. Then the operator may erase the previousrecord and register a better image. In the second case, a double entrymay be created for the same document, which can be retrieved using oneor the other set of key words. Additionally, more than one image may beregistered for the same document, for instance if this document includesseveral pages. However in this case, the use of the scanner 20 will bepreferred.

The system can be used by another operator, provided that he or she usesthe same kind of index information that was used to record the document.A learning period may be required for the system to take into accountthe specific pronunciation of an operator, but the length, and even theneed of that period may be significantly reduced by the use of the samekey words.

At a first step 300, the operator 10 picks a document and holds it inhis front of him. An image analysis may be automatically activated afterthe image is stabilized for a short time of around one second.Alternatively, the image analysis may be triggered by a command voicedby the operator in the microphone 104.

At step 310, the operator 10 enters index information by voicing keywords. A test is made at step 312 to determine if the set of key wordsis complete. If not, the computer 18 asks the operator to enter themissing key words at step 315, until enough key words have been entered.Some of the key words may also be located automatically by an imageanalysis software 108, as will be further detailed in FIG. 4.

At step 320, an image of the document is captured by the high resolutiondigital camera 102 of the headset 100. A unique document identifier iscreated at step 322, and the document image is registered in thedocument database 180 at step 325, along with the document identifierand the set of key words forming the index information.

The archival can take place immediately after the document has beenrecorded in the document database 180 or at a later stage. In the secondcase, the computer must recognize the document first. This is achievedeither automatically by image comparison, or asking the operator 10 toenter the same key words as before, or extracting the index informationfrom the image.

At step 330, the document is archived; i.e. the operator 10 places thedocument in one archive box 120, 140, 160 of a given cabinet 12, 14, 16.The operator confirms the archival of the document using the headset,for instance by pointing a dotted target corresponding to the centre ofthe view field (such as the target of FIG. 4) on the box and voicing anappropriate command, and/or indicating the ID tag of the box. Thephysical location of the archive box is automatically captured by theheadset, recorded at step 332 and linked to the document identifier atstep 335.

The computer 18 may also read the tag identifiers 12A, 14A, 16A of thecabinets or boxes. These indications can be registered during the setupphase and used to verify that a document is placed at the correctlocation. This can be useful if, for instance, a folder or a box isadded into a cabinet. However, in most cases, the right folder or boxwill be close enough for the operator to find it.

Once a document has been recorded in the document database 180, it canbe retrieved by the operator 10 entering the same key words as beforeaccording to a vocal input from the operator whenever a quick check,i.e. in digital form only, is required. The computer 18 may ask theoperator 10 to enter more key words until the set is complete. Thesystem performs a match in the document database 180 to find out thedocument corresponding to the same set of key words and displays therecorded image on the embedded display 110 of the headset 100. Thisrecorded image might not be accurate enough to regenerate (e.g. reprint)the document, but enough to verify an information.

At step 340, the operator 10 enters index information by voicing one ormore key words used for recording the document. A test is made at step342 to determine if the set of key words is complete. If not, the systemasks the operator to enter the missing key words at step 345.

At step 350, the system search the document database 180 to find out thedocument corresponding to the same set of key words and displays itsimage on the embedded display 110 at step 352. If the image is enoughfor the operator to find the information (test at step 355) he or she islooking for, then the process stops.

Otherwise, if a more substantial check, i.e. in physical form, isrequired and the operator 10 needs to retrieve the original document,the operator 10 asks at step 360 for the physical location of thedocument. The system retrieve the physical location recorded at step362, and displays it by highlighting or overlaying on the embeddeddisplay 110 a virtual artifact onto the corresponding cabinet, folder orbox where the document is archived at step 365.

Whenever the operator 10 needs to retrieve a physical document alreadyarchived, he or she may directly enter the same index information asbefore and skip the steps 350 to 355. The system performs a match in thedocument database 180 to find out the document corresponding to the sameset of key words. The document is identified and its physical storagelocation is displayed to the operator, by highlighting or overlaying onthe embedded display 110 a virtual artifact onto the correspondingcabinet, folder or box.

FIG. 4 shows an example of a document as seen on the embedded display110 with the system of the invention, in this case an invoice 30. Forillustrative purposes, the appearance of the document is relativelysimple, with easily identifiable graphic elements, and the content hasno particular meaning. The supplier name, address and logo are in thetop left corner. The recipient name, address and department are in thetop centre section. The date, description of service provided as well asreference numbers and amounts form the middle section. Virtual buttons32, 34, 36, 38 are displayed on the embedded display 110 below thedocument for respectively “archive”, “process”, “send by email” and“close” the document.

In this example, the key words used as index information are thesupplier name; the contract number, the service period and the recipientdepartment. The operator speaks the rest of the key words and the systemcreates a unique document identifier. It is also possible that thesystem extracts the index information from the image of the documentusing the image analysis software 186.

The image analysis software 186 identifies the key words by testing thecomposition and disposition of the various elements of the image. Oncethe key words have been located, their position can be confirmed to theoperator 10 by highlighting or overlaying on the embedded display 110 avirtual artifact, for instance dotted rectangles 40, 41, 42. If a keyword is not located within one or two seconds after the image capture,the operator may move it closer to the centre of view field, representedby a dotted target 44. This dotted target 44 can be displayedcontinuously or whenever the help of the operator is required toidentify or locate an element in the image of the document. The operator10 may also point this image element with a finger for the highresolution digital camera 102 to locate it.

Terms such as “Urgent” or “Important” may also be recognized by theimage analysis software 186 and used to trigger a specific process. Byusing the virtual button 36 the image of the document may be attached toan email and sent to a specific recipient. By clicking on the virtualbutton 34, other elements which do not form part of the indexinformation may be extracted from the image of the document and sent tothe enterprise application software 200 to be recorded independentlyfrom the archival application. These operations may be either performedautomatically or triggered by the operator clicking on the virtualbutton 32.

In other embodiment, no such use is made of image analysis, and theimage of the document is simply registered in the document database byclicking on the virtual button 32 or voicing the appropriate commandafter the key words have been entered.

Once the image has been registered, it can be retrieved and displayed tothe operator with the embedded display 110 of the headset 100 using thesame key words as index information. The key words can be highlighted inthe virtual image of the document. When the operator does no longer needthe image, he can close it by clicking on the virtual button 38 orvoicing the appropriate command.

The operator may also look for a particular document, but do notremember all the key words used to record it. Or the operator may lookfor a range of documents, for instance to check if anyone is missing, orto compare numbers over a whole period of time.

FIG. 5 shows an example of several documents 50 as displayed on theembedded display 110 with the system of the invention. In this example,the operator 10 is looking for one or more documents already recorded inthe document database 180, but enters only part of the indexinformation, or specifies a range (typically a date range). The computer18 will search the documents matching the partial information or rangeand display them to the operator 10 on the embedded display 110 insequential order. The operator 10 can then navigate through thedifferent images and select the one(s) 52 he or she is looking for.Navigation can be achieved in different manners, for instance bypointing the dotted target 44 on one document to zoom on it, thenzooming of the next or previous document by pointing the dotted targeton the corresponding arrows 56, 58, or voicing the word “next” or“previous”. The operator 10 may also select, deselect or close thedocuments by clicking on corresponding virtual buttons 60, 62, 64 orvoicing the appropriate words.

FIG. 6 shows a group of storage cabinets 12, 14, 16 as seen on theembedded display 110 with the system of the invention. In this example,the operator 10 wants to retrieve a specific document which has beenalready archived. The operator 10 enters the same index information usedto record the document. The computer 18 performs a match in the documentdatabase 180 to find out the corresponding document. The document isidentified and its physical storage location is displayed to theoperator by highlighting or overlaying on the embedded display 110 avirtual artifact onto the corresponding cabinet and box. The virtualartifact can be for instance dotted rectangles 70 or arrows 72. Thanksto the embedded positioning system; another arrow 74 may give a firstindication of direction if a given cabinet is not in direct line ofsight with the operator 10, or located in another room, This indicationmay also be given or supplemented by audio messages if the computer 18includes the vocal synthesis software 198.

As the operator 10 is approaching, the high resolution digital camera102 of the headset 100 may also read ID tags 120A, 140A, 160A of theboxes. The location of the box is not supposed to have changed since thedocument was initially archived, but this may happen if for instance,others boxes have been added into a cabinet. However, in most cases, theright box will be close enough for the operator to find it. The computer18 can then confirm the box into which the document has been archived byhighlighting or overlaying on the embedded display 110 a virtualartifact on the ID tag of the box, for instance a smaller dottedrectangle 76.

Similar indications can be provided to show an operator 10 where adocument belonging to a particular group is to be archived the firsttime. Based on the key words spoken by the operator 10 through themicrophone 104, the computer 18 performs a match in the documentdatabase 180 to find out documents belonging to the same group (i.e.associated to one or more of the same key words), retrieves theirphysical location and displays it in the same manner on the embeddeddisplay 110. However, the actual location of the document is alwaysrecorded whether or not the operators follows the indications of thecomputer 18.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing another embodiment of the method ofrecording and retrieving a document in digital or physical form usingthe system of the invention. In this situation, the operator wants toarchive a document but does not know where the other documents belongingto the same group are located.

At step 700, the operator 10 picks a document and holds it in his frontof him. An image analysis may be automatically activated after the imageis stabilized for a short time of around one second. Alternatively, theimage analysis may be triggered by a command voiced by the operator inthe microphone 104.

At step 710, the operator 10 enters part of the index information byvoicing one or more key words through the microphone 104. At step 712,the system search the document database 180 to find the documentsalready archived which correspond to the set of key words and displaystheir images on the embedded display 110 at step 715. Some of the keywords may also be located automatically by the image analysis software186, and/or the search performed by the document matching software 193.

At step 720, the operator 10 navigates through the images displayed onthe embedded display 110 to identify documents belonging to the samegroup as the one he wants to archive. If at least one document belongingto the same group is identified at step 722, then the process continuesto step 730. Otherwise the operator 10 is asked to enter other key wordsat step 725.

At step 730, the operator 10 confirms that the document belongs to thegroup identified at step 722. A test is made at step 732 to determine ifthe set of key words required for that group of documents is complete.If not, the computer 18 asks the operator to enter the missing key wordsat step 735, until enough key words have been entered.

At step 740, an image of the document is captured by the high resolutiondigital camera 102 of the headset 100. A unique document identifier iscreated at step 742, and the document image is registered in thedocument database at step 745, along with the document identifier andthe set of key words.

At step 750, the operator 10 asks for the physical location of thedocuments belonging to the same group and already archived. At step 752,the computer 18 retrieves the physical location of the documentidentified at step 722 and displays it by highlighting or overlaying onthe embedded display 110 a virtual artifact on the corresponding boxwhere the document is archived at step 755.

At step 760, the operator 10 places the document he wants to archive inthe box indicated at step 755 and confirms the archival using theheadset. The physical location of the document is recorded at step 762and linked to the document identifier at step 765.

It is important to note that FIGS. 1 to 7 above are only illustrative.Many variations are possible whiteout departing from the scope of theinvention. For instance, the headset 100 and the computer 18 may beintegrated in a single wearable unit, which may be in wirelessconnection with the remote server 22 hosting the document database 180.The enterprise application software 200 and/or any required softwarecomponent cannot be loaded in the headset 100.

Other elements which do not form part of the index information may beextracted from the image of the documents and sent with the indexinformation to the enterprise application software 200 located in thecomputer 18 or the remote server 22 directly from the headset 100 to berecorded independently from the archival application. Images of thedocuments may also be attached to an email and sent to a specificrecipient for information or approval directly from the headset 100.

The logical and/or physical organisation of the archives may bedifferent from the ones described. The method steps described in FIGS. 3and 7 may also be performed in a slightly different order.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for archiving a document in digital formin conjunction with an archiving of a document in physical formcomprising: capturing an image of the document by a high resolutioncamera of a headset connected to a computer, the image comprising thedigital form of the document, the document comprising index informationenabling identification of the document, recording, by the computer, thecaptured image of the document in a document database along with theindex information, confirming, by the computer, the archiving of thedocument in physical form in a folder or a box of a cabinet at adetermined physical storage location by detecting the folder or box in adelimited centre portion of a field of view of the high resolutioncamera of the headset in conjunction with detection of a voiced commandor an indication of an identification tag of the folder or the box ofthe cabinet, recording, by the computer, the determined physical storagelocation of the document; and further comprising identifying thedocument, by the computer, based on entered corresponding indexinformation, displaying on an embedded display of the headset thedetermined physical storage location of the document, by highlighting oroverlaying a virtual artifact onto the corresponding cabinet, folder orbox to provide a prompt for retrieving the document from the determinedphysical storage location.
 2. The method of claim 1, further comprisingcreating, by the computer, a unique identifier for the document.
 3. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising receiving via the microphone ofthe headset at least part of the index information in the form of voicedkey words.
 4. The method of claim 3, wherein said key words used asindex information are one or more of the following: a supplier name, acontract number, a service period, a recipient department, a referencenumber or a date.
 5. The method of claim 3, further comprising asking,by the computer, for additional index information if said at least partof the index information previously voiced is not sufficient foridentifying the document.
 6. The method of claim 1, further comprisingautomatically extracting, by the computer, at least part of the indexinformation from the captured image with an image analysis softwareexecuted by the computer.
 7. The method of claim 6, further comprisingasking, by the computer, for additional index information if said atleast part of the index information previously captured is notsufficient for identifying the document.
 8. The method of claim 1,further comprising retrieving, by the computer, the recorded image ofthe document from the document database and displaying the image on theembedded display of the headset.
 9. The method of claim 8, whereinretrieving of the recorded image of the document comprises receiving viathe microphone of the headset at least part of the index information asvoiced key words and matching, by the computer, said at least part ofthe index information with documents of the document database.
 10. Themethod of claim 9, further comprising causing, by the computer, adisplaying of recorded images of documents in sequential order on theembedded display of the headset and navigating through the recordedimages to identify the relevant document.
 11. The method of claim 1,further comprising sending, by the computer, the recorded image of thedocument by email to a recipient for information or approval.
 12. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising sending, by the computer, theindex information or other elements which do not form part of the indexinformation to an enterprise application software of the computer or aremote server.
 13. The method of claim 1, wherein displaying thedetermined physical storage comprises causing, by the computer, thegiving a first indication of direction via the headset if saidcorresponding cabinet, folder or box is not in the direct field of thehigh resolution camera.
 14. A system of archiving a document in digitalform in conjunction with an archiving of a document in physical form,the system comprising: a headset including a high resolution camera, anembedded display, and a microphone; a computer communicatively coupledto the headset, wherein the high resolution camera of the headsetcaptures an image of the document, the image comprising the digital formof the document, the document comprising index information enablingidentification of the document, the computer records the captured imageof the document in a document database along with the index information,the computer confirms the archiving of the document in physical form ina folder or a box of a cabinet at a determined physical storage locationby detection of the folder or box in a delimited centre portion of afield of view of the high resolution camera of the headset inconjunction with detection of a voiced command or an indication of anidentification tag of the folder or the box of the cabinet, and thecomputer records the determined physical storage location of thedocument on a 3D model of an operator's environment including thelocations of the cabinets and document boxes or folders and linking to adocument identifier; the computer identifies the document based on theindex information; and the embedded display of the headset displays thedetermined physical storage location of the document, by highlighting oroverlaying a virtual artifact onto the corresponding cabinet, folder orbox to provide a prompt for retrieving the document from the determinedphysical storage location.